GUIDE International

GUIDE (Guidance of Users of Integrated Data-Processing Equipment) was a users' group for users of IBM computer systems.

GUIDE was formed in 1956; it was incorporated in 1970 as a non-profit organization under the name of GUIDE International Corporation. At its peak GUIDE had a membership of around 2,000 companies and institutions.

In 1994 in Europe GUIDE merged with the European arm of SHARE, another major IBM users' group forming GSE (Guide Share Europe).

In the US GUIDE ceased operation in September 1999. Although the groups did not merge, many of GUIDE's activities and projects were taken over by SHARE, and GUIDE suggested to its members that they join SHARE. In August 2000, SHARE took over the guide.org domain name.

.asia

.asia is the official designated regional domain extension for Asia and the Pacific. It is a sponsored generic top-level-domain (gTLD) operated by the DotAsia Organisation Ltd. .asia is open to companies, individuals and organisations who have connection to the region. .Asia domains can be seen and used by international and Asian businesses; regional conferences and symposiums; as well as Asian artists and celebrities.

The .Asia web address was introduced to the public through a comprehensive launch involving a multiphased Sunrise and Landrush process from October 9, 2007 to March 12, 2008. It became available on a first-come-first-served registration basis on March 26, 2008. In 2013, there are more than 455,000 .asia domains registered across 155 countries.

Roll-out/response

.asia founded the first Pioneer Domains Program on July 20, 2007, more than two months prior to the opening of its Sunrise launch. It offered businesses and individuals an opportunity to own and build on any .Asia domain before the TLD opened its doors to mass public registration. Applicants were asked to submit a brief business plan for the domain of choice and make a marketing deposit of US$10,000. The full deposit was returned to successful applicants against proof of marketing attributed to the promotion of the built out .Asia website.

Asia

Asia (i/ˈeɪʒə/ or /ˈeɪʃə/) is the Earth's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. Asia covers an area of 44,579,000 square kilometers, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area. It has historically been home to the world's first modern civilizations and has always hosted the bulk of the planet's human population. Asia is notable for not only overall large size and population, but unusually dense and large settlements as well as vast barely populated regions within the continent of 4.4 billion people. The boundaries of Asia are traditionally determined as that of Eurasia, as there is no significant geographical separation between Asia and Europe. The most commonly accepted boundaries place Asia to the east of the Suez Canal, the Ural River, and the Ural Mountains, and south of the Caucasus Mountains and the Caspian and Black Seas. It is bounded on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the south by the Indian Ocean and on the north by the Arctic Ocean.

He also appears in five full-length concert videos and has composed scores for numerous films including Oliver Stone's Heaven & Earth, Impressions of the West Lake, and The Soong Sisters. He won Golden Globe Award Best Original Score for Heaven & Earth and won Golden Horse Award and Hong Kong Film Award for The Soong Sisters (1997).